Autologous intralesional platelet rich plasma improves melasma

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is an upcoming interventional therapy for the treatment of melasma. Its efficacy is due to the multiple growth factors present in it which decrease melanogenesis by various signal transduction pathways. The present study evaluated the efficacy of PRP as a standalone agent in treatment of melasma. This is an open labeled prospective trial. Forty patients were given intralesional PRP at once monthly interval. Three such PRP sessions were carried out and the patients were followed up for 3 months. Assessment was done by calculating the modified melasma area severity index score (mMASI) for each patient. Patients were also asked to self-evaluate their improvement based on a scale. There was an average 54.5% reduction in the mMASI score at the end of the study. There was no relapse in any patient. This reduction was irrespective of the skin type, gender, and type of melasma. Patients self-evaluation showed that more than 90% of the patients were pleased or very pleased with the results. There were no significant side effects. PRP appears to be a potential new therapy with significant efficacy in improving pigmentation of melasma, standalone as monotherapy.